Spokane officials hope to have Washington water main repaired Wednesday

From staff reports

Spokane officials hope to have repaired a buckled water main on Washington Street by the end of Wednesday, with crews “all hands on deck” between the broken infrastructure and preparing for a major windstorm overnight on Tuesday.

Washington Street will remain closed above Seventh Avenue and traffic will be diverted at Eighth Avenue and Bernard Street down to Sixth Street. Local access remains available for nearby apartment buildings, clinics and businesses.

The water main break near where Eighth Avenue turns north and becomes Washington Street created a large crack across the entire pavement on Monday morning, sending large volumes of water and sediment cascading down the busy street. Crews managed to stop the main leak by 5 p.m. Monday, though two other leaks sprang up elsewhere in the system as water was restored.

The road shifted significantly from the break. North of the split, the pavement is now about 10 inches lower than south of the crack.

It’s not immediately clear what caused the rupture, nor the subsequent leaks that sprang when water was restored. The water main that failed is cast iron with little tolerance for structural weakness and was installed in the 1920s, according to Spokane Public Works spokesperson Kirstin Davis. That section was scheduled for replacement in 2026.

Water also travels through the area with high-pressure, making it more likely for a major break when something goes wrong, Davis said. Weather may have also played a factor, with significant rainfall possibly undermining the pipes.